Sirius Black's Daughter

Chapter Seventeen: The Dementor's Kiss

Song: To Late to Say Goodbye.
Posted: November 21st, 2020
Edited:
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER ALL CREDIT GOES TO JK!
Major editing: July 31st, 2021
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They had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race.
Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry, Natalia and Hermione brought up the rear.
 
Getting back into the tunnel was difficult.
Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.
  "You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," said Harry.
  "Yes..." said Black. "But I'm also -- I don't know if anyone ever told you -- I'm your godfather."
  "Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.
"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."
Harry waited.
Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
  "I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."

Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
  "What -- live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd --"
   "Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
  Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.
"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
  "Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
  Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.
"Of course Natalia would be with me, so you can have a built in cousin!"
Natalia and Harry smiled at each other and continued down the tunnel.

They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
  Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.
  The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off.
Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering.
Harry's mind was buzzing.
He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend.... he was going to also live with one of his best friends!

  "One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.
  Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly.
Black froze.
He flung out one arm to make Harry, Natalia and Hermione stop.
Natalia could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.
  "Oh, my --" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."
But Harry couldn't run.
Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leapt forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.
"Leave it to me -- RUN!"
There was a terrible snarling noise.
Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away --